Shoe polishing machine



Nov. 22, 1932. DQDGE 1,888,261

SHOE POLISHING MACHINE Original FiledJune 5, 1925' 4 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 22, 1932. H. A. DODGE SHOE POLISHING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pm Z 1 1 1 mllllw w I I; I T,

Nov. 22, 1932. H. A. DODGE SHOE POLISHING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 H. A. DODGE SHOE POLISHING MACHINE Original Filed June 5, 1925 Nov. 22, 1932.

Patented Nov. 22, 1932 unirsn STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY A. DODGE, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

1 T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY,

SHOE POLISHING MACHINE Application filed .Tune 5, 1925, Serial No. 35,121. Renewed April 13, 1932.

This invention relates to shoe-treating machines and is illustratively shown as embodied in a machine for cleaning and polishing shoes upon the feet of the wearer.

Difficulty has been experienced in providing a suitable machine of the type above referred to. Such machines as heretofore designed have usually been unsatisfactory, either becauseof the excessive manufactur ing expense due to complicated organization, or because of failure to apply the right quantitles of cleaning and polishing materials in such a manner as to insure against soiling the clothing of the user. Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide an improved machine of this class which will be inexpensive to construct and which will properly perform cleaning and polishing operations, as well as one which will be convenient to use.

To this end, in accordance with features of the invention, the illustrated machine has a novel organization of superposed shoetreating tools each of which has radial and peripheral shoe treating surfaces arranged and positioned so that either the top surface of the toe of a shoe or the'lateral surfaces of the shoe may be convenientlypresented thereto. In accordance with a further feature of the invention and in order that the user of the machine'may present either foot to the machine without moving about unduly, each of the tools is exposed over more than onehalf of its periphery for engagement with a shoe presented thereto. In the machine in which the invention is illustrated as embodied, the tools are mounted on a vertical shaft and means is disposed between adjacent tools for supporting a shoe presented to either the radial or peripheral face of one tool and also for contacting with the work engaging elements of the other tool to control the operative positions of its elements. As illustrated, the means which controls the work-engaging elements of the lower tool is provided with shoe-supporting surfaces at two different levels so disposed with rela-.

tion to the upper tool that the user may rest his foot upon one of these surfaces when desiring to treat the top of the toe of the shoe treat the lateral surfaces of the shoe.

To facilitate polishing the shoe after it has been cleaned and dressed, the lower tool is preferably made of a soft'material adapted to produce a durable high luster on the shoe. In accordance with another feature of the invention the polishing tool comprises clamping flanges and relatively long flexible polishing elements arranged to spread out and curl over one flange of the brush so as to provide not only a peripheral surface, but a polishing surface upon the lower part of the brush, thus adapting it for treating both the top and side surfaces of the shoe, and also means rotatable with the tool, a brush as herein illustrated, adjacent to the other flange to restrain and control the curling of the tufts of yarn about this latter flange.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following claims and the specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the com plete machine; r I

Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection just above the shoe-treating devices;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 33 of Fig, 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a portion of the machine taken on this same line and showing the liquid-applying members in contact with the brush;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2 showing the application of the scraping device to the brush; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through the paste-applying device.

' Considered generally, the machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a vertical, motor-driven shaft upon which there is mounted a pair of brushes each of which is so designed that it may be used to treat either the top or the lateral surfaces of a shoe presented thereto, one of the brushes being in-' tended for cleaning and the other for polish-' ing shoes. Mechanism is provided for supplying either a liquid material or a paste material to the upper of the two brushes, and the lower brush is made up of a soft material so that it is suitable for use in producing a durable, high lustre on all parts of the shoe. A support adapted to be grasped by the user is rovided so that he may raise his foot to bring his shoe into various positions with respect to the upper brush to clean off any surplus dirt and may then, by manipulation of a suitable handle, apply liquid to this brush and continue its use upon the shoe to complete the cleaning operation. If he desires, he may then transfer the shoe to the lower polishing brush in order to dry the surface before the paste is applied thereto, whereupon he will return the shoe to the upper brush and, by the manipulation of a suitable lever, apply polishing paste to said brush by means of which it may be spread over the whole surface of the shoe. The user will then complete the operation by applying his shoe to the lateral and under sides of the polishing brush which, as illustrated, is made up of tufts of yarn so as to provide a soft, resilient surface especially adapted to produce a high luster upon the surface of the shoe.

In the machine, an upper cleaning brush 10 and a lower polishing brush 12 are mounted in superposed relation upon a vertical shaft 14 resting in a step bearing 16 (Fig.v

3) in a base 18. The brush 10 has bristles rejecting from its peripheral and bottom was and the strands of the brush 12 assume a form adapting it for the application of work to either its peripheral or its bottom surface. A pulley 20 is bolted to the upper surface of the polishing brush 12 and is belted to the driving pulley of a motor 22 (Figs. 1 and 2). A standard 24, secured in upright position by :1 boss 26 (Fig. 3) in the base of the machine, is provided with a handle 30 (Fig. l) which may be grasped by the user to steady himself while using the machine. An upper cover 32 is clamped at 34 on the strndard 24 and is provided with a knob 36 by means of which it may be lifted for inspection of the machine. In this cover there is mounted a pointed pin 38 (Fig. 3)

engaging a conical recess at the upper end of the shaft 14 and serving as a bearing for the upper end of said shaft. It will be observed that the driving connection between the pulley 20 and the shaft 14 is provided b means of an arm 40 on the shaft engaging head of one of the bolts by means of which said pulley is secured to the brush 12. The user is protected from the operating parts of the machine by means of an inter-.

mediate cover 42 (Fig. 1) having lateral legs 44 and secured in position upon the standard 24 by means of set screws 46 (Fig. 3) passing through a depending hub 50 formed on said cover. Another cover 48, overlying the drivmg belt, is pivoted to the depending hub 50 of the cover 42 by means of upstanding ears 52, and its outer end is supported in elevated position above the driving belt by a rod 54 (Fig. 1) resting upon the base 18.

Besides its protective functions the intermediate cover 42 is so designed that it serves as a rest for the foot of the user while he is applying his shoe to the upper brush, and to this end it has a flat, semi-circular surface 56 at the front of the machine which underlies the depending bristles of the cleaning brush 10 so that the user may, by resting his foot upon this surface and moving it around, bring all parts of the upper surface of the toe of the shoe into engagement with the brush. In addition the cover 42 is provided with two side ledges 58 (Figs. 1 and 2), which are disposed at such a height with respect to the laterally extending bristles of the cleaning brush 10 (see Fig. 1) that they serve to guide the foot of the user as he presents the sides and rear of his shoe to one side or the other of said cleaning brush. This manner of using the machine is facilitated by the construction of the brush, best shown in Fig. 3, in which it will be seen that the bristles are inserted at various angles so that they extend out from and cover the lower surface of the brush and also extend laterally from the periphery of the brush. It is also facilitated by the arrangement of the machine, in accordance with which more than half of the periphery of the brush is exposed for engagement with a shoe presented thereto.

A receptacle 60 for liquid staining and preserving material is supported on the cover 42 by means of a bolt 62 (Fig. 3) passing between lugs 63 and through the cover 42 and by lugs 64 resting on the forward surface 56 of said cover. This receptacle is divided into compartments by means of a complete partition 66 (Fig. 2) anda partial partition 68 (Figs. 2 and 3) extending from front to back. The user is further protected from contact with the receptacle and mechanism to be described which is contained therein by means of suitably shaped lateral guards 70 and 7 2 (Fig. 2) formed integrally with a bridge member 74 which is bolted to the partitions 66 and 68 of the receptacle.

The application of liquid to the brush 10 may be effected by an arrangement, best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, comprising pivoted applyingmembers 7 6 and 82 which lie normally below the liquid in the receptacle 60 so that there is no danger of the oxidation of the excess liquid upon these members as would occur were these applying devices normally exposed to the air after applying-blacking to the brush. One applying member 76 is pivoted to the partition 68 at 78 and is provided near its outer end with an applying-surface 80 adapted to be raised into contact with the eriphery of the brush 10 (Fig. 4). Anot er applying member 82 is pivoted to the first member 76 at 84 and has an applying surface 86'which is adapted to bebrought into engagement with the lower surface of the brush 10 as the two arms are raised into the position illustrated in Fig. "I by mechanism attached to the applying members through an upstandng arm 88 of the member 82.

This mechanism comprises a hand-operated lever 90 (Fig. 1) carried at the upper end of a'rod 92 which is pivoted near its upper end in the handle 30 and at its lower end in the bridge 7 4 (Fig. A spring 93 surrounding said rod is arranged to return it to inoperative position when released bythe operator. The rod 92 is provided near its lower end with an arm 94 (Figs. 2 and 3) to the outer end of Which there is attached a chain 96 secured to a lug 98 upon the upstanding arm 88 of the blacking-applying member 82. This chain is guided, as the arm 94; is swung by the leveroperated rod, by a guide 100 secured to the bridge member 7 1 and extending rearwardly over the upper edge of the receptacle.

To prevent the inadvertent application of an excessive amount of liquid to the brush 10, a scraper 102 (Figs. 2, 3 and 5) is pivotally suspended by means of ears 104 from an eX- tension 106 of the guide rod 100 passing through supporting brackets 108 formed integrally with the guard 72 and the bridge 7-1. This scraper is provided with side members formed as parallel L-shaped blades joined at the front by a cross bar (Figs. 3 and 5). As may be seen from Fig. 2, intermediate up- 5 right blades are provided which extend outwardly different distances toward the center of the brush 10 so that, by the .proper gradual manipulation of the lever 90, one or more of the scrapers may be brought into contact with the peripheral and lower surfaces of said brush. The movement of the lever 90 is transferred to the scraper by means of a depending pin 110 secured in the lever arm 94 and arranged to engage the edge of a cam surface 112 formed integrally at the rear, upper part of said scraper. The dimensions and arrangement of the parts for applying liquid to the brush and removing an excess of liquid therefrom are such that the scraper is applied to the brush before the liquid-applying members come into engagement therewith. This provision absolutely insures the operator against a spattering of liquid due to an excessive application of said liquid to the brush. The arrangement also permits the use of the scraper blades between successive applications of shoe treating material to remove foreign matter from the bristles of the brush, and, by proper manipulation of the handle 90, the scraper blades may be brought into contact with the brush 10 without applying any liquid thereto. It will be noted that the arrangement also is such that upon a continued movement of the lever 90 both the liquid-applying members the bristles extending outwardly from the 0 noted also that the scraper is so located that lower surface of the brush. It should be it overlies theliquid receptacle 60'with the result that the excessive liquid which is removed by means of the scraper is trans ferred directly back to said receptacle substantially without loss. 8

An arrangement for applying polishing paste to the brushlO is disposed above the right-hand, empty compartment of the receptacle 60 so that small pieces of the paste which may be dropped will be collected in said receptacle and not scattered around the floor. This arrangement is best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6, and 'it comprises a container 120 supported upon the liquid receptacle 60 by means of a screw 122 (Fig. 2). A spring-operated plunger 124 extends across the container 120 and normally presses forward the paste 126 which is retained in the container by means of a displaceable cover 128. lVhen it is desired to add more paste to the container the plunger is retracted by means of a handle 130 and the cover opened up, after loosening a wing nut 132,and swung aside around its pivot 134.

To transfer a small amount of paste from the container to the brush, a transferring cylinder 136 is mounted at the front of the con tainer so as completely to close the forward end thereof and is pivoted upon a pin 138 secured in a bracket 140 forming an integral part of said container. It willbe noted that the transfer cylinder 136 is provided not only with a verticallydisposed, cylindrical surface 142 but also with a horizontally disposed surface 144 formed by means of a flange 1% extending outwardly from the bottom of the cylinder. By means of this flange the paste will be applied to the lower surface of the: brush 10, and it should be noted from Fig. 6 that the receptacle is cut away, as indicated at 150, so that the paste always is pressed'into contact not only with the cylindrical surface 14-2 but with the horizontal surfacel lt of the flange 146.

a An operator-controller lever 152 (Fig. 1)

is carried at the upper end of a rod 154, which is pivoted near its upper end in the handle 30,

and at its lower end (Fig. in the bridge 74.

This rod 154' is normally rotated to inoperative position by means of a spring 156 and is connected to the transfer cylinder 136 by means of an arm 158 slotted at its outer end to engage an upstanding pin 160 secured in said cylinder. Thus the operator, by one ormore oscillations of the lever 152, is enabled to turn the transfer cylinder 136 sufiiciently to bring the part of said cylinder which is coated with paste into contactwith the brush to transfer a small portion of m of liqui "either the top of the toe of the shoe or the lateral portions of the shoe against the brush without danger of contact with any metallic parts thereof. This result has been achieved, urthermore, very inexpensively by providing a brush in which the bristles are made up of tufts of yarn 162 whose inner ends are crowded in between flanges 164 and 166 and secured to the cylindrical hub 168 of said brush. These tufts of yarn are relatively I long, and as a result of the crowding to which they are subjected when they are secured in the brush, the tendency is for the outer ends of the tufts of yarn to spread out and to curl around the lower flange 164 to such an extent that these tufts provide not only a ripheral polishing surface but also a po ishing surface upon the lower face of said brush against which the top of the toe of the shoe may be brought with perfect safety. On the other hand, the bristles at the other lateral surface of the brush are prevented from curling around by an extension 170 of the lower flange of the driving pulley and, in addition, through a part of their path of rotation, by means of a depending flange 172 upon the platform cover 42.

In using the machine, manipulation of the various (parts, to effect the desired application or paste to the shoe, may be effected in the manner already described, and the user is enabled to arrange the steps of the o ation or dispense with any steps as he p eases in order to suit the particular condig tion of his shoes for which the machine is being used. Because of the arrangement of the machine, the operating parts are so protected that there is no danger to the user either because of moving parts or becauseof the scattering of the liquid and paste materials being used.

Having thus describedthe invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A shoe-polishing machine comprising a driven vertical shaft, a plurality of shoetreating tools mounted on said shaft in superposed relation, one of which is provided with radial and peripheral treating surfaces for #6 treating the lateral and the top surfaces of a shoe presented thereto, and means between said lateraland top surface-treating tool and an adjacent treatin tool for supporting a shoe presented toeither the side or the bottom so; of said first-mentioned tool and for contactin with the work-engaging elements of the ot er tool to control the operative positions of said elements.

'2. In a shoe-polishing machine, apoli'shiag tool comprising a vhub and clamping flanges attached thereto, lon flexible polishing elements secured to said ub by means of said clamping flanges tending to spreadapart beyond the erip'hery of the flanges and curl about the e ges thereof, and means rotatable with said polishing tool adjacent to one of said flanges tending to restrain said polishing elements from curling about said latter flange.

3. In a shoe-polishing machine, a rotatable shaft, a polishing tool mounted on said shaft comprising a pair of spaced flanges and a plurality of long flexible strands the inner ends of which are clamped between said flanges, said strands extending beyond and curling about one of said flanges thereby to form a rounded work-engaging periphery to which a shoe may be presented without danger of contact with the adjacent flange, and a. pulley for driving said shaft a side of which pulley coacts with said strands adjacent to and beyond the other of said flanges thereby to restrain curling of the strands about said other flange.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. 

